Two falls leave Rossi seventh, but 'it could be fun!'

MotoGP world champion Valentino Rossi can't remember the last time he crashed twice in one day, as he did at Indianapolis on Saturday, but the Italian is still looking forward to what could be a 'fun' race from seventh on the grid.

Rossi has been outpaced for most of the weekend, with efforts to improve the set-up of his Fiat Yamaha hampered by falls in this Saturday morning's free practice session, in which he finished ninth, then with six minutes to go in qualifying.

Forced to watch the crucial final minutes from the side of the track, Rossi was relieved to discover he didn't get pushed any further down than seventh and - with several other high profile names also off the front row - is looking forward to what could be an unpredictable race.

"We worked hard today to try to recover the feeling we've lost and we have made some improvement. Unfortunately I crashed at the worst point in the session, with the soft tyre in and doing some fast laps but with not enough time left to try again," said Rossi.

"It could have been worse because I thought I would end up much further back than seventh, so we can be happy for this.

"This track is very bumpy and I really think something needs to be done to some parts of it to improve it. I don't know when the last time I crashed twice on one day is but for sure it was many years ago, back in the 90s perhaps!

"Luckily I am okay, nothing is hurt and this is the most important thing. I think tomorrow is going to be a very interesting day because me, Pedrosa and Stoner are all behind the front row which is unusual. It could be fun!" he concluded.

"We are not having the best weekend but we made some improvements today and our race pace is not too bad," added team manager Davide Brivio.